"More than half of the average American child's daily liquid intake now comes in the form of sugary sodas, juices and high-calorie drinks, researchers report.  ...Overall, sweetened beverages made up 51% of the children's daily liquid intake. Kids with the highest consumption of sweetened drinks took in 330 calories more each day than those with the lowest intake. And students with the highest sweetened drink consumption consumed 62% less fruit than those with the lowest."

(Source:  "Bulk of Kids' Liquid Intake Is Hi-Cal Sodas, Juices," Reuters Health, August 27, 2002, http://reuters.com/news_article.jhtml?type=healthnews&StoryID=1378931, referencing American Journal of Public Health 2002;92.)

"'This is the right thing to do for children,' said board member Julie Korenstein, one of three co-sponsors. 'There is an obesity epidemic in the United States today nationally, and there is a tremendous rise in childhood diabetes.'

'Whatever children do outside of our schools, that's obviously up to parents and families, but we don't feel we need to contribute to it any longer,' she said."

(Source: Erica Werner, "LA Schools to Vote on Banning Soda," The Associated Press, August 25, 2002, http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story2&cid=519&ncid=519&e=14&u=/ap/20020826/ap_on_re_us/school_soda_ban_1.)

Researchers from University of Wolverhampton are concerned about the relationship between education and nutrition: "Failure to eat breakfast before commencing a day of study is probably a fairly common occurrence.  Although students may 'self-medicate' by drinking sugar-laden drinks during the break between classes, it is likely that many young scholars attend a 9:00 a.m. class without having taken in a significant number of calories since the previous day.  This study addresses the consequences of this for listening comprehension by examining the effects of glucose drink on performance."

The researchers formed two groups of college students, one to receive glucose-laced orange juice, and a placebo group given juice with a sugar-substitute.  Interestingly, blood glucose levels rose for both groups within twenty minutes of being given their respective drinks, but "[t]he two groups did not significantly differ in blood sugar levels across the study."

Concerning listening comprehension, "there was no main effect of group (F(1,78) = 2.62, p > 0.05), but performance was significantly better after consuming the drink (F(1,78) = 28.15, p < 0.001).  This effect was modified by an interaction (F(1,78) = 17.38, p < 0.001).  Simple effects analysis revealed no performance differences before the drink was consumed (p > 0.05), but a large improvement in the glucose group after receiving the drink (p < 0.01)."

While there were no immediate changes in blood sugar level, comprehension was significantly elevated in the group that received the glucose-rich drink as opposed to those students who partook of the saccharine drink, where both groups demonstrated equal "listening span performances" in pretesting.

The authors state that "[t]he literature suggests that this improvement occurs because blood sugar levels are elevated, and that glucose is available as 'brain fuel'.  The failure to find any significant change in blood sugar level but a sugar administration related improvement in performance suggests a more complex relationship."

The British researchers conclude that while there may be little risk of hazard accompanying students snacking in order to raise blood sugar-other than the inevitable "crash" after the sugar high-"it would be preferable for students to eat a nutritious breakfast with abstinence from sugar snacks unless the student has missed breakfast."

(Source: Neil Morris And Peter Saril, "Drinking glucose improves listening span in students who miss breakfast," Educational Research, Vol. 43, No. 2 [Summer 2001], 201-207.)